Yes, but ours will replace the optical block with a plug and play solution and emulate the original GD-ROM logic board for maximum compatibility. I have concept art as 3D renders which I made, but I won't show them until we have started working full time on DCIO.

Maybe this is a naive suggestion, but have you considered using a USB port? A USB port could be used to connect external hard drives (that usually come with external power supply, so it wouldn't stress the DC power supply) and it could also be used to connect other devices (USB flash drive, SD card to USB adapter, etc.).

i know this sounds like a looooooooooooooooooong stretch. but, has the ps2 ,ever been a project idea??
i know of the open ps2 project, but i imagine that, a ps2 version of a odde would be rather interisting project. yes???
( note: this might be in the wrong forum?? not sure.

Hi Matt, how about the Nintendo GameCube, there are a few options (WiiKey Fusion, WASP and Wode Jukebox) but these boards are near impossible to source. An ODE for the GC would be neat, especially if the optical drive could be kept as well (This is is possible with the mentioned solutions).

"The PS2 has a few solutions already. Our aim is to target consoles which don't have any other digital options besides using optical disc media."
Dreamcast, Saturn and 3DO already has their ODE solutions.
Dreamcast has GDEMU and USB-GDROM,
Saturn has Phoebe and Rhea,
3DO has USB Host Controller for FZ-1, FZ10 and one for GDO-101.
Btw, FM-Towns and Turbo Grafx/PC Engine both also has their ODE.

Still there is no accessible ODE for PS1, Sega CD, Philips CD-I, Amiga CD, NeoGeo CD and probably others, so ways to make new necessary stuff available.

"The PS2 has a few solutions already. Our aim is to target consoles which don't have any other digital options besides using optical disc media."
Dreamcast, Saturn and 3DO already has their ODE solutions.
Dreamcast has GDEMU and USB-GDROM,
Saturn has Phoebe and Rhea,
3DO has USB Host Controller for FZ-1, FZ10 and one for GDO-101.
Btw, FM-Towns and Turbo Grafx/PC Engine both also has their ODE.

Still there is no accessible ODE for PS1, Sega CD, Philips CD-I, Amiga CD, NeoGeo CD and probably others, so ways to make new necessary stuff available.

GDEMU is impossible to get ahold of.

USB-GDROM has the absolute bare minimum of an interface and is, as the name suggests, USB-only.

The GDEMU was cloned by the Chinese unfortunately. Very disappointing because Deunan worked hard on that, but it's weird that it's impossible to get a hold of even if it's cloned. We'll focus on DCIO eventually though and make an absolutely amazing device for the Dreamcast, but we're just entirely focused on PSIO at the moment.

In a few months, a friend will give me is old Dreamcast for me to "play" ;D so I've been looking into the Dreamcast modding options. This is the general idea I got:

1. IDE Reborn
It requires soldering skills, cutting the Dreamcast case to fit a IDE 40pin plug, an IDE drive / sATA drive with sATA to IDE adapter / Compact Flash to IDE Adapter and an external power source in case of 3.5" drives. It maintains original GD-ROM functionality. Not the best compatibility, but better than 3rd option. Cheap option but requires a few extras depending on how you want to store the games. A tutorial of sorts: http://8bitplus.co.uk/projects/dreamcas ... reamshell/

2. GDEMU
It requires screwdriver skills to open the Dreamcast and replace the GD-ROM with an SD adapter. Internal airflow is affected and prone to slight overheating. Compatibility seems very high, but availability is very scarse and it's slightly expensive. There are also clones floating around but the firmware can't be updated on those or they will brick. Some have the latest firmware 5.15.0, the original page doesn't have timestamps but I believe it's from April 2017. Here's a review of a clone, some games froze at first but then worked ok, probably PSU voltage issues? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4AgFqRe890

4. DC-IO
I'm really interested in what your final design will be. There has been ideas "thrown around" about a HDD replacing the GD-ROM, an SD solution like GDEMU, or also another SD solution that retains the GD-ROM functionality. I believe the latter would be the better option, because the console would retain it's original components, plus the option of booting form an SD card just like PS-IO already does.

So, weighing all options, I think at first I'll go for a GDEMU clone if I find a very cheap one, since it's practically impossible to get my hands on an original board, knowing I won't get any firmware update, and I might encounter the same freeze issues as JohnRiggs did on his video. Then I'll go for a DC-IO when it finally goes into production, depending on the price AND if you go for the SD option AND if you keep the original GD-ROM functionality... but that's probably just wishful thinking.

In a few months, a friend will give me is old Dreamcast for me to "play" ;D so I've been looking into the Dreamcast modding options. This is the general idea I got:

1. IDE Reborn
It requires soldering skills, cutting the Dreamcast case to fit a IDE 40pin plug, an IDE drive / sATA drive with sATA to IDE adapter / Compact Flash to IDE Adapter and an external power source in case of 3.5" drives. It maintains original GD-ROM functionality. Not the best compatibility, but better than 3rd option. Cheap option but requires a few extras depending on how you want to store the games. A tutorial of sorts: http://8bitplus.co.uk/projects/dreamcas ... reamshell/

2. GDEMU
It requires screwdriver skills to open the Dreamcast and replace the GD-ROM with an SD adapter. Internal airflow is affected and prone to slight overheating. Compatibility seems very high, but availability is very scarse and it's slightly expensive. There are also clones floating around but the firmware can't be updated on those or they will brick. Some have the latest firmware 5.15.0, the original page doesn't have timestamps but I believe it's from April 2017. Here's a review of a clone, some games froze at first but then worked ok, probably PSU voltage issues? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4AgFqRe890

4. DC-IO
I'm really interested in what your final design will be. There has been ideas "thrown around" about a HDD replacing the GD-ROM, an SD solution like GDEMU, or also another SD solution that retains the GD-ROM functionality. I believe the latter would be the better option, because the console would retain it's original components, plus the option of booting form an SD card just like PS-IO already does.

So, weighing all options, I think at first I'll go for a GDEMU clone if I find a very cheap one, since it's practically impossible to get my hands on an original board, knowing I won't get any firmware update, and I might encounter the same freeze issues as JohnRiggs did on his video. Then I'll go for a DC-IO when it finally goes into production, depending on the price AND if you go for the SD option AND if you keep the original GD-ROM functionality... but that's probably just wishful thinking.

There's no safety issue with GDEMU OR the USB GD-ROM. If you remove the 12V rail that fixes the "overheating" issue as it is anyways. I own both. That 12V rail was for the GDROM specifically and since it's removed it's a null issue. Both these devices were designed with the 3.3V power in mind. They will not kill your console. There was never any serious or threatening issue to begin with anyways, since then Krikzz has improved the method of everdrives.